The parshah opens with “Vayigash eilav Yehudah.” Rashi, citing Chazal, explains that Yehudah approached Yosef prepared for t’filah, dialogue, and even confrontation. Yehudah was not acting impulsively; he was stepping forward because he had accepted full achrayus for Binyamin – “anochi e’ervenu.”
What is striking is that Yehudah does not argue facts alone. He speaks from a place of responsibility and self-sacrifice, offering himself as an eved in place of Binyamin. The Ramban notes that this moment revealed Yehudah’s true leadership – not power, but the willingness to carry another person’s burden.
For those gathering to say T’hilim on behalf of others, this parshah reminds us that t’filah is most powerful when it comes with achrayus. When we take another Yid’s pain personally – when their tzarah becomes “ours” – our words carry a different weight. Yehudah’s readiness to give himself for his brother was the catalyst that led to Yosef revealing himself and the beginning of the g’ulah.
Sometimes, the y’shuah begins not with answers, but with someone willing to step forward and say: I am responsible.
List of People Who Need a r’fuah sh’leimah (a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Maxim Yehudah ben Yafah
Aharon ben Shamsi
Michael ben Chayah Sarah Beheta
Shmuel ben Itta Etel
Mordechai ben Shoshana
Zaidah Eliezer Zev ben Shifrah
Yehoshua ben Devorah
HaRav Pinchas ben Alta Sima
Yisrael Meir ben Hadassah
Yossi ben Ratzon
Yair ben Alfred
Uriel ben Amir
Tamir ben Moshe
Shachar ben Aharon
Rab ben Yitzchak
Ronen ben Tomer
Yisrael ben Yocheved
Yoel Sar Shalom ben Nelly
Avraham Mordechai ben Yael
Yitzchak ben Dinah
Eliezer ben Chanah Malkah
Meir Aryeh ben Devorah
Moshe ben Chanah
Yaakov Dov ben Pninah
Yaakov ben Ethel
Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
Yehudah Leib ben Manya
Heleni Orna bas Chen Chanah
Iris Rachel bas Miriam Chayah
Chanah Brachah bas Svetlana Tziporah Chayah
Sarah bas Shoshanah
Maya Mazal bas Zivah
Tamarah bas Ksiyah
Esther Hadassah bas Devorah
Chayah Shulamis Brachah bas Sarah Leah
Leah bas Ita
Devorah bas Miriam Zisel
Ruchamah Sarah Fraida bas Hadassah
Sharonah Mindy bas Rivkah Rachel
Chayah bas Shterna Sarah
Israeli Soldiers (Please recite Psalms 25, 26, 46, 83, 142.)
Menachem Zion ben Ariel
Hillel Zev ben Ariel
Shmuel Pesach ben Chinah
Yehudah ben Elisheva
Dov Ber ben Rachel Chayah
Hillel Yisrael ben Tzilah
Zechariah Yisrael ben Elisheva Feiga
Yitzchak Yehudah ben Elta Draizel
Zechariah Menachem Chaim ben Elta Draizel
Yair Menashe Shmuel ben Shoshanah
Shmuel Tzvi ben Liba
Daniel Abba Tzvi ben Chayah Tz’rina
Yechiel Aharon ben Sarah Miriam
Aryeh Simchah ben Chayah Michal
Amitai ben Yitzchak Venvar
Yisrael Yehudah ben Elisheva Rachel
Shmuel Yosef ben Adinah
Neta (Nechamah) bas Avital Emunah
Naomi Emunah bas Inbal Nechamah
To add names of individuals who need a r’fuah sh’leimah to next week’s T’hilim column, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.
